Hi all,
I currently have a Leadtek TV2000 XP Deluxe and have been very happy with it for watching analog TV.
I have a few very important vhs tape I would like to convert to digital and heard that the chipset in my current card is not up to capturing the best possible picture. I realize that VHS is poor quality at the best of times but these tapes are very special to me and I want the best conversion possible (within reason lol).
I heard that the Conexant BT878 which my Leadtek has is not the best at capturing quality video. I have searched far and wide and have come up with a couple of contenders, which are:
1. Hauppauge WinTV HVR-2200 PCI-Express TV Tuner or
2. WinFast PxDVR3200 H
Now Iím not sure what chipsets these cards have but I heard that a 10bit card will be far superior to an 8bit card such as my Leadtek. Is 10bit the highest?

Here is my whish list for a card:

DVB-T and analog so I can watch digital freeview in High Def?
PCI-E
At least s-video in
Good chipset
Remote control

Any suggestion from you fine folk here would be very much appreciated as the more I search the more confusing it gets. I don't have unlimited funds but am willing to go to $200
p.s. I have a reasonably powerful computer to match the new card with.

Speedy Gonzales

05-06-2009, 11:13 AM

Nothing wrong with that leadtek tuner, Ive got one (but dont use it now), and used it to record from video. The picture was as good as what was recorded. I just used the program the tuner came with. It was fine.

I'm using a DVB-T tuner at the mo (USB), but it doesnt have any inputs on it. BUT, you can get freeview on it (the only program you cant get is Prime/Juice, which arent on freeview). But, the rest of the channels are (of course, this depends on where you live, on what you get). It helps if the monitor you using supports HD. Otherwise it wont be HD, it'll be SD

stone2

05-06-2009, 11:22 AM

Thanks for the "Speedy" reply.
Yes the monitor I have is HD.
Do you know anything about 8bit verses 10bit? or chipsets for that matter?
I read somewhere to stay away from 8bit for quality sake.
I'm wanting to upgrade as I would like some future proofing and maybe later fit the new card to a HTPC setup.

Zippity

05-06-2009, 11:44 AM

Pay a visit to http://www.videohelp.com/ :)

dugimodo

05-06-2009, 02:26 PM

I converted a lot of VHS tapes to DVD using a TV2000 and was quite happy with the results - I just used the highest quality MPEG2 setting to capture then burnt to DVD, if the files were too large for a single DVD I reduced them after capture as using lower settings during capture results in a much more noticable drop in quality than converting afterwards. These cards use software encoding so a reasonable processor is required.

As for DVB-T, I have had good results with the HVR 1200 which I picked for a cheap price and because it's PCI-E ( an attempt at future proofing ). The problem with DVB-T in NZ at the moment is a lack of official software that supports it properly. It doesn't work with media centre for example. There are several alternatives that work but they can be difficult to setup, myself I use Power DVD 7 ultra for the codec and DVB Viewer as the actual TV - viewing / recording software. A lot of peope use media portal, but I find the setup of it annoying.

As for the 8 bit - 10 bit I have no personal experience with it but in digital systems more bits = more accurate reproduction ( with diminishing returns as you go higher ).

Simple solution - try the card you have on a short bit of video ( just record 1-2 mins for eg ) and burn to a RW disc and see if you are happy with the results - take you a short amount of time and answer the question. Bear in mind content with fast movement tends to look worse than static images - try to test the worst case scnario.

Speedy Gonzales

05-06-2009, 02:37 PM

Whats wrong with the program some tuners come with? Altho some programs are crap, and usually crash. Which is probably why people choose something else (which doesnt always help either, it'll crash, or not work). BUT the software / program that came with this tuner (so far anyway), hasnt crashed,or caused probs. And it lets you do everything (record/use teletext, use EPG, take snapshots, scan the channels for TV and radio, schedule).

You dont need anything to play whatever back (it'll play whatever with the same program you record with). What else do you need.

linw

05-06-2009, 03:18 PM

I have the HVR2200 in service with GBPVR and it is excellent as a TV tuner but I don't see TV tuners as video importers.

I bought a USB device made for the purpose from here:- http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5707. Landed at your door for $US12.51. Comes with Ulead video sware but it stopped recording at 86MB which hacked me off. However, a quick google turned up an excellent FREE importer from here:- http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/index.htm (check out their other free offerings as well).

NB The hardware comes with a driver, STK1150 which is for XP. For Vista and Win7, find the driver STK1160 (google for it).

May not be what you want but it is a cheap option.

PS Allow a good couple of hours for browsing the DealExtreme site!

l

psycik

05-06-2009, 04:36 PM

Hi all,
I currently have a Leadtek TV2000 XP Deluxe and have been very happy with it for watching analog TV.
I have a few very important vhs tape I would like to convert to digital and heard that the chipset in my current card is not up to capturing the best possible picture. I realize that VHS is poor quality at the best of times but these tapes are very special to me and I want the best conversion possible (within reason lol).
I heard that the Conexant BT878 which my Leadtek has is not the best at capturing quality video. I have searched far and wide and have come up with a couple of contenders, which are:
1. Hauppauge WinTV HVR-2200 PCI-Express TV Tuner or
2. WinFast PxDVR3200 H
Now Iím not sure what chipsets these cards have but I heard that a 10bit card will be far superior to an 8bit card such as my Leadtek. Is 10bit the highest?

Here is my whish list for a card:

DVB-T and analog so I can watch digital freeview in High Def?
PCI-E
At least s-video in
Good chipset
Remote control

Any suggestion from you fine folk here would be very much appreciated as the more I search the more confusing it gets. I don't have unlimited funds but am willing to go to $200
p.s. I have a reasonably powerful computer to match the new card with.

I haven't checked, not owning one, but if the 2200 has the inputs then it would work for the purpose you want. The analog tuner is a proper hardware encoding one.

The DVB-T tuners are fine and work well for FreeviewHD (I have the PCI equivalent Dual DVB-T tuner).

Saw something about the software...yes most manufacturers software is crap and doesn't know how to deal with the nz freeviewHD (specifically the HE-AAC-LC sound).

AFAIK the new Wintv (that should come with the hauppauge products - if not it's downloadable, the version you want is 7.

stone2

05-06-2009, 11:02 PM

Excellent advice people..I thank you.
Question for linw tho...Why don't you see TV Tuners as capture cards? Isn't that their main function!! If they have video-in whats the difference if the signal comes through a coaxial or s-video?
Cheers

linw

07-06-2009, 01:18 PM

There is no reason for you not try to use a Tuner as an audio/video input device but I just prefer to dedicate the tuners to their primary function. I concede this may be a bit short sighted!

But don't confuse the coax and svideo inputs. The coax is for the RF aerial input.

stone2

09-06-2009, 10:22 AM

Fair comment linw but what would you recommend as a capture device for my computer then?
Cheers

linw

09-06-2009, 04:32 PM

Where did you hear that your current tuner card would be inadequate?

What have you got to lose by using the TV2000 and trying it out? Don't get too carried away with the idea that you will lose quality as you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear! Actually, I have been surprised at the output quality when I have converted some VHS tapes that are from TV broadcasts.

I have used my DV movie camera with pass-through in the past with very good results.

So, why not just try your TV2000 (cheapest option)? Or you could get the USB device I mentioned earlier (cheap option). Then, if you want digital tuning you could get an HVR2200 ($199).

Blam

09-06-2009, 05:49 PM

If all you need is a capture device, grab the cheap ones for $30 for trademe.